James Harden was masterful in pouring in 50 points for a Clippers team that once again has endured a slew of injuries at the most inopportune time.

Harden was purposeful with his play in going 14-for-24 from the field, six-for-13 from three-point range and 16-for-20 from the free-throw line for a Clippers team that has been in a tailspin since the All-Star break.

Harden was mindful in playing 38 minutes and 27 seconds about how the wins and losses are paramount this time of the year for the Clippers.

He essentially was all encompassing for the Clippers in delivering them to a 123-115 win over the Detroit Pistons at the Intuit Dome on Wednesday night.

“Knowing we had a lot of guys out, which made me a little more aggressive,” Harden said. “Aggressive in scoring and making plays.”

Harden produced the eighth 50-plus points game in Clippers franchise history and the first since Lou Williams on Jan. 1, 2018 at Golden State.

Harden was a big reason why the Clippers snapped a three-game losing streak.

“To see him come out and score 50 on a back-to-back, at the age of 35, just says a lot about him and competing every night and playing 38 minutes again on a back-to-back,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “But we needed every bit of it.”

From the start, Harden was on the attack. He punished the Pistons with 23 points in the first quarter, and that was just the start of things for him.

He missed just three of his nine field goals and two of his six three-pointers in the first 12 minutes.

“He had 23 in the third quarter, but he was more direct,” Lue said. “He was getting right into his shots, getting to his spots, not over dribbling. Just getting to his spots and so when he’s making his step-back three — of course he can get to the free-throw line, he can get to the basket — but when he’s making his three, it’s a tough cover.”

The Clippers were without Kawhi Leonard, who was unable to play in the back-to-back game for the Clippers because of right knee management.

They were without leading scorer Norman Powell, who was unable to play because of a right hamstring strain. They were without key role player Derrick Jones Jr., who was unable to play because of a right groin strain, and they were without newcomer Ben Simmons, who was unable to play because of left knee management.

The message from Lue to his group was to “stay the course” during these trying times.

“Injuries are part of the game,” Lue said. “We’re not the only team that’s hurt, and we’ve played this way for the majority the time I’ve been here. So, that’s no excuse.”

The Clippers returned from the All-Star break going 1-6 in their first seven games, one of those losses coming to the Pistons last month.

During that stretch, the Clippers’ defensive rating dropped to 23rd in the NBA at 118.8.

Lue said these are the moments when the Clippers will have to show “what we are made of.”

The Clippers had to show that against a Pistons team that has been playing well lately, entering the game having produced a 9-1 record in their last 10 games.

Detroit is led by All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, who is 11th in the NBA in scoring (25.3) and third in assists (9.4), to go along with 6.1 rebounds per game.

Cunningham had 37 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.

The Clippers last played a home game on Feb. 12, against Memphis. After time off for the All-Star break, the Clippers then played seven straight road games, two were in Los Angeles against the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena, but it still had been three weeks since they were last here.

“It was good to be back home in front of our fans,” Lue said. “Being back in the Intuit was good for us after eight straight road games. So, tonight was a really big win for us.”

Harden got help from Bodan Bodanovic (23 points) and Ivica Zubac (22 points, 11 rebounds).

But this night was about Harden, who put on his masterful performance in front of President Barack Obama, who sat on the baseline next to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.

“Yeah, I wanted my pic with Prezy after the game, man,” Harden said. “He left. I guess he wanted to beat traffic, but we got a pretty cool relationship and we met a few times. So, it’s pretty cool to see him at the game. Probably the reason why I played so well.”